EXCERPTS

From the Foreword by Daniel Hinkley:

"And it is with this incontrovertible sense of ownership that Stephanie approaches horticulture in general and the writing of her Directory in particular. The strength of the book is not necessarily that it possesses facts that make planning a trip to the area useful, but that the information is real; experienced by the author in an excitement that we know to be genuine. Stephanie takes her gutsy, mind boggling energy and channels it into an odyssey of discovery while recording her responses in an artful command of the language. In short, she takes the rough cut jewels that abound in the Pacific Northwest, polishes each to precise clarity, and then offers us the rare opportunity to lift each up and marvel at its color and flicker."

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From the From the "Nurseries" Chapter (Oregon):

Hedgerows Nursery
20165 SW Christensen Rd., McMinnville, OR 97128; (503) 843-7522; FAX same
Directions: follow Hwy.18 west from McMinnville approximately 9 miles. At the junction of 18 and the Bellevue/Amity Hwy. (and the site of the Lawrence Gallery), turn left and follow the blue signs to Hedgerows :8 1.5 miles.) Traveling east on 18 from the coast turn right on Bellevue/Amity Hwy., follow the blue signs.
Open: mid-March-Sept. – March-July, Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; August-Sept., Thurs.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and by appointmen.
Hedgerows has begun to develop a big name among aficionados, and a visit to this deceptively small specialty nursery can yield a startlingly large cache to cart home. David Mason trained at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden and during his career has been the garden’s supervisor at Wakehurst Place in Sussex and the manager of Longstock Park Nursery and Water Garden in Hampshire. He co-authored The Complete Book of the Water Garden. His wife and partner in the nursery, Susie Grimm, has gardened for 35 years. They travel annually to England to seek out the unusual for new introductions, along with many uncommon perennials, shrubs and vines. A taste of what you'll find here: euphorbias, penstemons, pulmonarias, cistus, hydrangeas, ceanothus, hellebores, diasias and campanulas. A setting in the wine country of Yamhill County should induce most horticultural explorers to put a visit here on a “Must Do” list now! (note their table at plant sales is always mobbed!)

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From the "Nurseries" Chapter (Washington)

Emery's Garden
2829 164th SW, Lynnwood, WA 98037; (425) 743-4555, FAX 743-0609. Web: www.emerysgarden.com
Directions: from I-5 take the 164th St. exit #183 and travel west 1 mile to 164th SW and Alderwood Mall Pkwy. (half mile north of Alderwood Mall — drop the family off there to shop or see a movie and you get to go to Emery’s to shop or see a lecture!)
Open: daily, 9 a.m.-6 p.m, extended daylight savings time spring/summer to include Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Emery Rhodes' hot new nursery is an urban “oasis,” with three of the six acres devoted to the nursery and three to a developing arboretum showcasing several glorious trees from the original nurseryman here, Mr. Uyeda, planted among Northwest native trees, shrubs and other plants of interest. Keen gardeners come to Emery's first and foremost because there is a very appealing selection of plants beautifully displayed in every season in all categories (including hand-selected “collector plants” from such avid specialty sources as local garden-lover Steve Antinow, Dan Hinkley's Heronswood, Phillip Curtis Farms in Oregon, and Pete Ray's Puget Garden Resources of Vashon Island.) You’ll find the largest and most diverse Conifer selection in the Northwest and Japanese maples are another noted specialty. The staff is intent on selecting trees that are most suitable to the maritime Northwest, which is important to us all because they are such an investment in time, space, and sometimes expense. In preparing for the 1999 season the staff thought long and hard about how better to organize their plant selection. I really appreciate that they are now organized by plant type (“Drought Tolerant”, “Wet/Boggy”, “Long Blooming”, “Shade Loving” and so on) and that 4” perennials are alphabetized. I think that customers become loyal regulars at Emery’s because there is an outstanding staff of helpful and knowledgeable plant experts, because there is a dedication here to the customer as evidenced in the space devoted to display gardens and the valuable classes offered free or as community spirited fund-raisers, and because the owner and staff have such genuine respect for the partnership of the environment and gardening. Just one example of this is their innovative Living Christmas Tree Program, initiated in 1997, in partnership with the Snohomish County Native Plant Salvage Program. The nursery offers a wide variety of appropriate native trees. After January 1, Emery's Garden will take back its living Christmas trees, house and care for them until spring, then deliver them for replanting in natural areas, a county park or Native Growth Protection Area. In future years, Emery's hopes to be able to offer “recycling” for non-native trees as well. And while I am on the subject, note that they offer a creative display of unconventional trees you may also consider as your living Christmas tree. We've decorated a large Ficus benjamina for two decades at the Feeney household. Did I mention the Garden Store? It’s as wonderful as the nursery! Adjacent take time to stroll through the Japanese display garden. It has been renovated and now beautifully melds traditional elements with Northwest plants and details, some ideas you might take home with you. Here you will find a collection of Emery Rhodes' own species rhododendrons. I know I have rambled on here a bit, but anyone who knows me will know my enthusiasm is genuine. I’ve just loved this place since the first day I visited two years ago. To stay on top of all the bustling that goes on here ask to receive the handsome monthly newsletter and visit their substantive website.

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From the "Seed Sources" Chapter:

Richters
Goodwood, Ontario, Canada L0C 1A0; (905) 640-6677; Fax 640-6641. Email orderdesk@richters.com. Web: www.richters.com
The site is just packed with useful information and you can order on-line, they send their plants and seeds worldwide! A very impressive catalog of (over 700) herb seeds (also plants and things like comfrey roots are sold as well). Mid-summer one year, visiting one of my favorite professional herb growers, I learned they get all their seeds from this company. I liked what I saw and followed suit. In the meantime I “met” Conrad Richter on the Internet, and have taken a virtual peek at new introductions each year while I wait for my own new catalog to arrive. By all means get the catalog (it has many color photos and is jam packed with herb-related information and a huge book selection as well). Catalog free.

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From the "Emporiums" Chapter:

Northwest Garden and Topiary
805 NW 23rd Ave., Portland, OR 97210; (503) 222-9939. Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday noon-5 p.m. “A Gardener’s Gift Shop” first described to me by Lucy Hardiman as “absolutely adorable.” Well, I concur! Since 23rd is such an appealing destination these days, a visit to this shop is a must. Step off this bustling street and find yourself in the courtyard of a French villa, with music of a European persuasion and the lifelike twitter if birds in the background (I think they please Jillie the resident feline undergardener as the customers.) This shop is on the one hand a feast for the senses, and on the other an oasis of calm, with a proffered cup of tea and invitation to meander. Topiaries are a specialty, with clever creations to take-away or the full range of supplies to craft your own. Pots are another focus here, with imports from France and Italy and ones exquisitely hand crafted in Portland. With irresistible houseplants and the garden variety in season, you are sorely tempted to make a marriage of plant and pot as your special find of the day.

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From the "Literature" Chapter:

The Garden
Available on better newsstands, and by subscription, but I think the best way to get the official publication of the Royal Horticultural Society is to join, which will cost you about $50/year, but will also bring you a smashing (free) seed exchange, and if you happen to be visiting Britain, entree into gardens and events throughout the U.K. While it may help to be a bit of an Anglophile to get the greatest benefit from this monthly magazine, I assure you the quality and focus of the horticultural writing is, for any serious garden and plant lover, well worth the price of admission in its own right. The features cover practical garden design ideas, plant profiles and outstanding gardens, large and small. Every month, RHS scientists address seasonal problems in the advice column and Hugh Johnson, under his nom de plume of Tradescant, offers a gardener's view of the world. (see “Clubs” chapter for membership information)

The Explorer’s Garden, Rare and Unusual Perennials
Dan Hinkley (Timber Press, 1999, 350 pp) As this Directory goes to press, The Explorer’s Garden is in the cooker at Timber Press, available in the Fall of 1999 to anxious plant enthusiasts and fans of Dan Hinkley’s mesmerizing enthusiasm for the plant kingdom. I have been privileged to read the manuscript galleys. The ultimate setting for this tale is Heronswood Nursery and Garden on the Kitsap Peninsula. The characters whose essences are explored and profiled are hundreds of species, varieties and cultivars from 75 genera of herbaceous perennials Dan deems worthy of greater consideration by curious, adventuresome, awestruck and thoughtful plant aficionados. Richly crafted text, characteristic of Hinkley’s boundless energy and encyclopedic knowledge, is illustrated by 251 color photos captured through the magic eye of Lynne Harrison. In 28 chapters, we are introduced to the lesser known relatives of familiar friends from Thalictrums to Aralias, Helonias to Hardy Geraniums, Rheums (“With a View”) to the Climbing Aconites. The plot for each plant’s story involves amazing tales of origin we glimpse through the tasty details of this avid plant explorer’s ambitious trips to China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Mexico, Chile and the wild places of the American west. We are given plump descriptions of the cultivated behavior of these botanical immegrants from the author’s experience testing them in the Heronswood gardens (not entirely with happy results, as when a rampant Ranunculus repens ‘Buttered Popcorn’ had to be containerized — “a plastic container with a lid.”) Steeped in detail, the book is strong on taxonomic relationships, cultural requirements, propagational methods and hardiness recommendations. A choice compendium for my dog eared nursery catalog.

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From the "Travel Opportunities" Chapter:

Bed and Breakfast for Garden Lovers
This brilliant idea (organized, with very high standards by the tireless Sue Colquhoun) is an organized group of B&B owners who love gardens, have them and invite you into them. They have a delightful brochure with pen and ink sketches of the houses and enticing descriptions such as: “Set in the historic village of Long Melford, renowned for its stately homes, magnificent church and many antique shops. An exquisite small, separate studio cottage offering independence and privacy in the peaceful double walled garden created by the owners over the last 12 years. Award-winning plantsman's garden featured on T.V. and in many U.K. and international magazines. £28 per person.” (from the 1999 brochure). The 1999 brochure features 100 listings that range from Cornwall in the south of England to Oban in the north of Scotland (with four entries in the Netherlands and France.) Larry and I have stayed in several of their offerings and have been universally delighted with our hosts, their B & Bs and of course, their gardens. Write for a brochure: send a self-addressed No. 10 envelope and three international reply coupons for each copy requested to: Mrs. Sue Colquhoun, Handywater Farm, Sibford Gower, Banbury, Oxon OX15 5AE England.

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From the "Gardens To Visit" Chapter

LAKEWOLD GARDENS
STREET/TEL: 12317 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499; (888) 858-4106; (253) 584-4106. (terrific!) Web: www.lakewold.org for among other things, a virtual tour, historic photos/text, events, Garden Shop page, library “catalog” of books on their shelves, and something I really applaud, a plant database!
DIRECTIONS: From I-5, just South of Tacoma, take exit #124 (Gravelly Lake). Travel west approx. one mile. Only about 5 minutes off I-5!
OPEN: April-September, Thursday-Monday, noon-8 p.m., (closed Tuesday and Wednesday); October-March, Monday, Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The fabulous Shop is open when the garden is open (you can visit without paying to enter the garden.)
ENTRY FEE: $5/general admission; $3/seniors, students/military, children under 12 free. October-March, Saturdays are “Family Day” – one family, in one car, is admitted for one low price of $5
TOURS: Guided tours are offered for groups or individuals, by appointment, so call early to avoid disappointment. For more information or to arrange a tour: (253) 584-3360, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. House is open for retreats, weddings, events.
BROCHURE/VIDEO: rack card with color photos, map, general garden information. I highly recommend the video on Lakewold as a very interesting and informative history of the Wagners and the garden. Tour groups I have made this suggestion to have been very complimentary about how much it enhanced their enjoyment of Lakewold.
ACCESSIBILITY: limited wheelchair access
SUPPORT ORGANIZATION: The Friends of Lakewold, Box 98092, Lakewood, WA 98498; (253) 584-3360 – why not join!
ß ß ß (Start your visit in the Sunroom viewing the excellent video on Lakewold, or order it from the Shop in advance of your trip. It will add much to your visit.) What is known as Lakewold Gardens today was originally the site of a summer cabin purchased in 1908 by Emma Alexander. The landscape of towering Douglas firs and Garry oaks with their understory of native woodland plants remain intact. During the next 30 years two other owners developed the framework for what we see today at the garden. One of the most dramatic architectural elements of the garden is a sweeping brick pathway laid out in a herringbone pattern leading from the house to the domed latticework tea house, an inviting destination covered in June with the profusely blooming old-fashioned musk rose, 'Kathleen.' Their stone walls and iron fences and gates we still see today. Over the years some of the tree canopy gave way to the formal gardens and rolling lawns which provided the palette on which the ultimate owners would begin their life's love affair with Lakewold. In 1938, Corydon and Eulalie Wagner began building collections of their beloved rhododendrons, Japanese maples, roses and rare rock and alpine plants. They designed, developed and maintained what has become one of the Pacific Northwest's landmark estate gardens, combining the essence of European formality, Asian simplicity, and Northwest splendor in their 10-acre estate. They worked for many years with the renowned landscape architect Thomas Church, establishing this treasure above the oak-lined shores of Lakewood's Gravelly Lake. The Hardy Fern Foundation has installed a display garden here also. Though open year round, perhaps the best viewing period begins in early April with the magnificent show of the justly famous rhododendron collection, set amid sophisticated selections of trees and shrubs and the final burst of color in September provided by Japanese maples and other deciduous trees chosen for their autumn show, including the brilliant foliage of Viburnum tomentosum along the lakeside fence. The Carroll O'Rourke Library is open for reference use to the public.

If you would like a personalized copy, inscribed by Stephanie, for a special friend or for yourself, she is happy to do so. Just let us know the details—How To Order